Waiting for Solid Evidence to Address Chaos in the Auto Industry: "Over 60,000 Orders in 72 Hours After Launch!"

"Over 60,000 orders placed within 72 hours of launch!"

Previously, the promotional slogan for a newly launched new energy vehicle caused a market sensation. However, a year after its launch, the sales did not exceed 60,000 units. Today, such false marketing is precisely the key target of a special rectification action against online chaos in the automotive industry, jointly initiated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and five other departments.

In recent years, we all know that China's automotive industry is undergoing significant changes. The rapid development of new energy vehicles, the widespread application of intelligent connected technologies, and the increasingly fierce market competition have made this industry the focus of public attention.

However, behind this prosperity, some irregular online behaviors have gradually taken root and spread. The scene at the beginning is just the tip of the iceberg of such irregular online behaviors. Frequent issues include illegal profit-making, exaggerated promotions, and malicious defamation—yesterday, illegally profiting through false information; today, misleading consumers through false advertising; tomorrow, attacking and smearing competitors to tarnish corporate reputation...

All these various issues, too numerous to mention, have made the online environment of the automotive industry a complete mess.

These not only mislead consumers but also damage the ecological environment for healthy industry development, causing those in the automotive industry to suffer greatly. Some have even angrily stated that the chaos on the internet will eventually ruin the automotive industry. At present, these chaotic phenomena that have plagued the industry for a long time are expected to be individually "settled" as the country introduces policies for concentrated rectification.

01Three months, focused rectification of three types of issues.

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Central Social Work Department, the Central Cyberspace Administration, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation have jointly issued the "Notice on Launching a Special Rectification Action for Online Chaos in the Automotive Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). It has been decided to carry out a three-month special rectification action nationwide to address online chaos in the automotive industry.

The three-month nationwide rectification campaign directly targets three major issues that have long existed in the automotive industry: illegal profiteering, exaggeration and false advertising, and malicious slander and attacks. The aim is to regulate the competitive order of the new energy vehicle industry, improve the quality and efficiency of addressing online chaos, urge enterprises to standardize marketing and promotional activities, create a positive public opinion environment, and support the high-quality development of the automotive industry.

According to the "Notice," this special rectification action has the following characteristics.

First, it was carried out by six departments jointly, forming a multi-departmental coordinated regulatory framework. This collaborative regulatory model can integrate resources and strengths from all parties, forming a unified regulatory force and improving rectification effectiveness. Each department, based on its responsibilities, tackles online chaos from different angles, achieving comprehensive and multi-dimensional regulation.

The action also highlights the focus on precisely targeting and addressing irregularities. The "Notice" clarifies the key issues to be rectified, including illegal profiteering, exaggeration and false advertising, and malicious defamation and attacks, covering the main manifestations of the current online irregularities in the automotive industry.

The issue of illegal profiteering is directly aimed at "water army" accounts.

In the internet era where traffic equates to profit, car companies often complain about "internet trolls" creating false information to gain unjust commercial benefits, or even using AI technology to produce fake content on a large scale for illegal profit, greatly enhancing its harmfulness and concealment.

False advertising mainly targets car companies.

Recently, an automotive blogger exposed the widespread data falsification of "over ten thousand small pre-orders" in the auto industry. Car manufacturers are cleverly manipulating the numbers between "small pre-orders" and "firm orders." A "small pre-order" refers to a customer paying a refundable deposit of several thousand yuan, which is used to showcase the product's popularity to the market and investors, but actually contains a lot of inflated figures.

Moreover, employees within the brand are required to "voluntarily support" an order during new car launches. One supplier revealed that he himself had placed over 20 intention deposits for a certain brand.

Malicious defamation and attacks are the third type of chaos to be specifically addressed.

Some companies, aiming to suppress competitors, slander and attack automobile enterprises or their products, damaging their corporate or product reputations. At the same time, they organize and manipulate online trolls, "black PR," "paid commentators," and "fan circles" to jointly release false or negative information about automotive companies and entrepreneurs, incite public sentiment, and engage in "war of words," maliciously smearing competitors. In some cases, even senior executives of automotive companies use their own influence online to disparage others and provoke conflicts, seriously disrupting fair competition within the industry.

Such targeted rectification measures can accurately combat various illegal and irregular activities, thereby improving rectification efficiency.

In addition, the "Notice" not only requires the implementation of centralized rectification but also emphasizes the establishment of a long-term mechanism. Through measures such as organizing enterprise self-inspections, facilitating reporting channels, and conducting in-depth analysis and evaluation, a long-term governance mechanism for the online environment in the automotive industry will be established to prevent the recurrence of irregularities.

During this period, the platform's responsibility to play a pivotal role is also strengthened. As online platforms are crucial channels for information dissemination and key links in managing online chaos, the "Notice" requires online platforms to conduct thorough self-examination and rectification, enhance the identification and control of online trolls using generative AI technology, and improve product functions such as enterprise-related infringement information complaints and reports, dispute tags, and one-click association with debunking content to prevent the public from being misled by false information.

02The Chaos Behind the Internet

The chaos in the automotive industry is driven by continuous price wars, long-term losses for companies, the harsh reality of many new energy vehicle companies being eliminated, as well as anxiety over industry competition, the lure of traffic-driven profits, and the lack of a comprehensive self-regulation mechanism within the industry.

As of September 2025, the scale and intensity of price reductions in the Chinese automotive market are significant. The price war for new energy vehicles continues, with the average price cut for new energy passenger vehicles in August nearing 20,000 yuan, a reduction close to 15%. Some models have seen maximum price drops approaching 50%, and new energy vehicles are generally being sold at a loss.

Based on this, the automotive industry's profit in 2024 decreased by 7.3% year-on-year, with a profit margin of only 4.4%; in the first quarter of 2025, the average profit margin of the automotive industry was only 3.9%, marking a ten-year low.

Under the pressure of survival, anxiety continues to haunt. After all, the automotive industry is undergoing a crucial transition from traditional fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles, with the market landscape facing a reshuffle and fierce competition between new and old forces. In this context, some companies are under immense competitive pressure, leading to anxiety and attempts to gain competitive advantages through unfair means, which in turn has spawned various online chaos.

In the internet era where traffic translates to revenue, some individuals, in pursuit of traffic and commercial interests, do not hesitate to create and spread false information. Additionally, because online dissemination is fast, wide-ranging, and highly concealed, it presents significant challenges to regulation.

While the automotive industry is rapidly developing, self-regulation mechanisms and standards have not yet been fully established. Some enterprises lack long-term vision, are eager for quick success, and neglect business ethics and social responsibility, participating in or condoning the emergence and spread of online chaos.

In this online chaos, the biggest victims are undoubtedly the consumers. Reports indicate that some new energy vehicle models priced below 70,000 yuan are cutting costs by eliminating airbags, using low-cost controllers, or even omitting OTA upgrade functions, resulting in emerging quality issues. Data from automotive consumer complaints show that the proportion of quality issues in the total number of complaints is on the rise.

Through this special rectification action, the online environment of the automotive industry is expected to be significantly improved, effectively curbing issues such as illegal profiteering, exaggerated publicity, and malicious defamation. Meanwhile, a clear and clean cyberspace will help automotive companies focus on technological research and product innovation, enhance core competitiveness, and promote high-quality development of the industry.